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first sit thoughts

Gregg D Vance

Gregg D Vance

Active Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2018
Messages
123
Location
Slapout AL
got my kestrel in friday -,have been fooling around a little with muddy aerolites but with no linemans only stayed on first one just to get used to attaching to tree. with 1 aider puts me right at 20-22 ft- gonna depend on amt of clothes. aerolites stack well and tie nice and tight with no rattling- 10 1/2 pounds . no platform yet so just used the top step of the stick. there is not going to be an issue with comfort on the kestrel that i can see with the backrest. sat for about 30 minutes.one ropeman would be nice for lineman but not mandatory- may save you a minute so no biggie.
the main issues can and will be worked out
1:learning to shoot the 3 to 5 oclock position
2:figuring out just how much bend at the knees do i want
I went into wood with it in bag not on so i picked a pine and started , first climb took about 12 minutes to get up and kicked back so not bad for first time ever using lineman and attaching sticks not from the ground. I will be practicing the shots from the top of one stick hanging and a ring of steps or wild edge's around tree may be the answer (dont know). its also a little trust issue when pivoting in saddle when you have never used climbing ropes and the like but that will come just need to do that low also.
This will just take developing a system, no different than when i am carrying a summit climber which i was using a steel one that was around the 30 pound so i am down 13 pounds currently and not walking uncomfortable with the bulky stand on my back. lovin it so far.
you also need to pull it down a little off of the waist once you are up to get comfortable.
 
Do you feel like you may mess with your tether or tree rope? Or do you think you will just keep them the way they are?
 
no- I put it a little above head height and then the bridge clipped in about even with the forehead and it felt good. once its set i dont really see the need for a ropeman on tether yet- may change when i hunt. may try to go kill a pig and see so come deer season wont be completely clueless.
 
I am at about the same point with the kestrel. I have been it 3 times since I got it. The kestrel has been a pleasure. The big change for me was putting a ropeman on my lineman belt. I do not see myself putting one on the tether.

I am considering changing out the ropeman for the petsel ART as that is actually designed for the linesman belt and is 24 knwheras the Ropeman is 4 kn ie 890 lbs of strength
 
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2nd sit with bow shooting - loving this thing. there is a learning curve shooting the 2-5 but it is possible even from just the stick so with a platform or steps no problem. moving around at a low height was the ticket to trusting this. i was even dancing around on the bottom of the stick learning to pivot and the bottom kicked out and dumped me.(slick white oak) but i found myself hanging rather quick and all was good so that helped alot . wouldnt be doing what i was doing in a hunt situation so cant blame the stick.. I then put another stick beside that one to simulate a ring of steps and the shooting was alot better so now just need to decide which way to go.
 
Gregg D Vance said:
2nd sit with bow shooting - loving this thing. there is a learning curve shooting the 2-5 but it is possible even from just the stick so with a platform or steps no problem. moving around at a low height was the ticket to trusting this. i was even dancing around on the bottom of the stick learning to pivot and the bottom kicked out and dumped me.(slick white oak) but i found myself hanging rather quick and all was good so that helped alot . wouldnt be doing what i was doing in a hunt situation so cant blame the stick.. I then put another stick beside that one to simulate a ring of steps and the shooting was alot better so now just need to decide which way to go.
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Sounds like good practice to me. Good luck!
 
Definatly sounds like your figuring it out! Can’t wait to get in the trees with mine.
 
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